Grading Objectivity
I don't know about those of you who are teachers, but I always tend to have some moral dilemmas when grading. It makes my heart beat faster and I start to sweat. I see their dear little faces and think, "oh, but she tried so hard!" In a place like Bowling Green, letter grades are it--no C-'s or B+'s, it's either an A, B, C, and so on. This makes it all that much more tempting to bump someone up (say from a 69% to a 70%, because then instead of a D the student is getting a C) and conversely, to let them suffer with the D that, afterall, they deserved anyway!
But then what about those few who are in the lower to mid range (say the 81-85) what do you do with them to help them out if you feel that they deserve it (as my grade for discussion gets configured in with tests, papers, etc)? For example, I adore the exchange student I have, and would often have to call on her to get her to speak, but when she did, I feel that her contributions were worth more than others, because she can give the students (and myself) a completely different perspective on the United States and our government. Plus, it's not like she comes from a place like Canada where just about any American can find on a map. She's from Armenia. (Challenge: visualize the world in your head, now can you find Armenia?) Anyway, by the math the kid is in that mid range, and well, I bump her up and try to 'justify' it in my head. But because as my Springboard training here at BGSU has taught me (http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/springboard/index.html) I value justice above all else, I question whether or not it is fair to do that without looking and evaluating the others in the same way? Probably not, so I go back, and look at them all over again, doubt myself, and so on. This goes on until I am stressed out and worried that I'm not giving someone a fair deal, blah blah blah.
Am I the only one who stresses about this? Is there a best method for figuring out things like this? Is there a way of just honestly being 'fair and balanced'? As I am sure that it is only going to get worse as I embark on grading their frigging snoozer papers that have taken me so long to even bother with, especially with a self-imposed chapter deadline on my thesis that is past due! Argh.
But then what about those few who are in the lower to mid range (say the 81-85) what do you do with them to help them out if you feel that they deserve it (as my grade for discussion gets configured in with tests, papers, etc)? For example, I adore the exchange student I have, and would often have to call on her to get her to speak, but when she did, I feel that her contributions were worth more than others, because she can give the students (and myself) a completely different perspective on the United States and our government. Plus, it's not like she comes from a place like Canada where just about any American can find on a map. She's from Armenia. (Challenge: visualize the world in your head, now can you find Armenia?) Anyway, by the math the kid is in that mid range, and well, I bump her up and try to 'justify' it in my head. But because as my Springboard training here at BGSU has taught me (http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/springboard/index.html) I value justice above all else, I question whether or not it is fair to do that without looking and evaluating the others in the same way? Probably not, so I go back, and look at them all over again, doubt myself, and so on. This goes on until I am stressed out and worried that I'm not giving someone a fair deal, blah blah blah.
Am I the only one who stresses about this? Is there a best method for figuring out things like this? Is there a way of just honestly being 'fair and balanced'? As I am sure that it is only going to get worse as I embark on grading their frigging snoozer papers that have taken me so long to even bother with, especially with a self-imposed chapter deadline on my thesis that is past due! Argh.
posted by Molly | 1:48 PM
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